It All Started with a Fork
by Soleara
Summary: F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for me and you... wait, that's not right! Anyway, Bakura kisses Ryou and Ryou doesn't know why. He's late for school, so he's distracted and stabs himself in the hand with a fork. Stuff happens, and... well,


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of the characters herein. I do, sort of own the game though. I own the idea for the categories, or at least as far as I know I do.

Anyway, I wrote this last August and just now bothered to put it up here. I'm submitting it for a contest, but reviews are appreciated and I love everyone who bothers!

I watched him, wondering something.

"Bakura, why do you never talk to me anymore?" I asked, apprehensive of the reaction I would get.

"Because I hate you, and I don't see any reason for it." He answered,

detached.

"You know, there's a fine line between love and hate," I said, before clapping my hands over my mouth, horrified at what I had just said. Where did those treacherous words come from? Bakura will kill me for saying that! I stared at him, trying to gauge his reaction, my hands still over my mouth. I thought I had just signed my death warrant.

"B-Bakura?" I finally asked, after what seemed an eternity of waiting. He looked at me, obviously enjoying the fear that was evident on my face. Then he started to laugh. It wasn't a happy laugh.

"'A fine line between love and hate'?" he asked, between bouts of laughter. "What, did you read that in one of your 'self-help' books I see you look at in the book store?" he asked me. I was shocked; that had not been the reaction I expected at all. I had been thinking more along the lines of 'beat me senseless then lick the blood off' kind of reaction. He had done that before; well, at least I had dreamed him doing that before.

When I didn't answer him, every trace of mirth disappeared from his face.

"Or could it be that little Ryou has a secret?" he asked me, or at least I think he was talking to me.

"W-What do you mean, a secret?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"I mean, are you hiding something that might cause you to say something like that?" he clarified in a silky dangerous voice that he only used when he was very angry with me. Truth was, yes, I did have secret. I was in love with someone who acted like I didn't exist. That sounds almost as crazy as Stockholm's syndrome, but there you go. Maybe I am nuts.

"I'm waiting," he reminded me, still in that threatening voice. I didn't answer. He walked up to me and grabbed the collar of my shirt.

"You haven't answered me yet," he snarled into my face. He picked me up and held me against the wall.

"Yes," I whispered. His face was very close to mine. If I had wanted to I could have licked him. He blinked, not letting go of me.

"Well?" he said, in a sill threatening but slightly less angry sounding tone.

"Well, what?" I asked distractedly. I was too busy staring at the beautiful face in front of me. I wanted to kiss him so badly right then, I think I should've gotten a medal for self-control. I didn't do it.

"What is it you're hiding from me?" he replied silkily. He moved his face even closer to mine. Our lips were almost touching. Why was he doing this? Did he, even then, suspect me?

"I c-can't tell you," I whispered, pushing my head as far back against the wall as I could.

"What can you keep hidden from you dark side, light?" he whispered to me, leaning his head forward. I could feel his breath on my mouth.

"How I feel about… things," I replied softly, trying to think about anything other than the fact that his mouth was so close to mine.

"What kids of… things?" he asked again, rephrasing his question to fit my answer. He seemed to really want to know.

"You." The word just slipped out of my mouth. All of a sudden, Bakura closed the gap between our mouths. I was so stunned that for a moment I didn't move. Then I leaned into the kiss, putting my hands behind his head to pull him closer. His hands slowly released me from the wall as he used them in other ways. He put his hands on my back as he deepened the kiss.

"Mmm…" I said, or more like moaned. Suddenly he broke away. We were both panting slightly from lack of oxygen. And other things, at least for me.

"I've got your secret, little light," he whispered, grinning ferally as he did so.

"B-Bakura… I have another question," I murmured, unsure if he would even hear me. He obviously did, because he replied.

"I'm feeling charitably disposed towards you right now, so ask fast."

"Why did you do that just then?" I asked him, sincerely hoping that finding my secret wasn't the only reason. His eyes positively gleamed at that.

"Well, my little light, that would be telling now, wouldn't it?" he half answered me, turning away. He faded back into the ring, smirking as he did so. So, was going to get the characteristic silent treatment tonight. Oh well, I got what I have been wishing for a long time: Bakura kissed me. But why did he do it? I turned and looked at the clock. I needed to go to sleep if I wanted to be up for school tomorrow.

I changed into my pajamas in the bathroom. I slept in a t-shirt and boxers. I climbed into bed, not realizing that I was observed. I closed my eyes and heard, so faintly I thought I imagined it, a voice saying, "If you only knew light."

The next day… I woke up with the sun shining. The sun was very bright for 6:30 a.m. I thought about what it was that had actually woken me up. It was not me alarm clock, it was the light streaming in though my window. I turned to look at my alarm clock. Oh my nightstand there was pens, pencils, paper, but no alarm clock. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my school uniform, ad ran into the bathroom to change.

"Oh hell," I whispered under my breath after I got my pants on and was buttoning up my shirt. I heard a voice laugh in my head.

"So, my language is rubbing off on you. I sure hope you didn't need that thing that made that repulsive noise," he said; the evil grin was evident eve in his voice.

"What did you do with it?" I asked, not near as scared as the night before. Daylight helps me.

"The thing in the kitchen that you set a timer and blow things up in," came the reply. Wait a minute; we didn't have anything like that…

"Holy hell! You mean a microwave!" I yelled, finishing the shirt and running into the kitchen. The space near the microwave was blackened, and the ceiling was slightly charred. I sure hope my insurance pays for that.

"Oh no," I groaned as I grabbed a S'more Poptart on my way out. Just before I walked out the door, I looked at the clock.

"I slept till 10:30!" I murmured, hardly believing it. I jogged slowly towards the school, resigning myself to missing the first half of the day. Thankfully, the bullies from school weren't on the way. They were probably at school, though they could have skipped for all I knew, or cared.

I managed to make it at school without incident. The lady in the office was very nice considering I practically skipped half a school day. It was lunch break now, so I headed for the table where Yugi and the others sat at. Surprisingly, even Seto Kaiba was sitting there. Weirdly, he was sitting next to Jonouchi of all people.

"Naïve little Ryou," I heard Bakura say in my head as I sat down.

"What's wrong, Ryou? You seem a little… pensive," Yugi asked me. Everyone stared at him, including me.

"What? Yami made me read the dictionary to him last night!" he said as he stifled a yawn behind his hand.

Then I noticed something very odd. I had to blink several times before I realized I wasn't hallucinating. Seto and Jonouchi were holding hands! I turned back to Yugi to ask him about this strange development, but it was obvious he wasn't all there. His body was there, but his eyes were very unfocused, soulless, even. Yugi must be talking to the pharaoh, I thought, but I heard Bakura laugh.

"Are you really that naïve or are you just pretending?" he asked me, in an infuriatingly know-it-all way.

"Are you even going to explain that question, or should I just forget about it?" I asked him, the daylight making me bolder than was really wise.

"The pharaoh and his light have been together for quite some time. What do you think the pharaoh is doing to little Yugi?" he replied, leaving plenty for the imagination.

I must have been zoning out, because at that awkward moment someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Ryou? Earth to Ryou! Have you left orbit yet?" Anzu was saying, and Yugi was the one who tapped me.

"So why were you so late for school?" Jonouchi asked; the others, minus Seto, obviously wanted to know.

"Well, Bakura blew up my alarm clock. He put it in the microwave to keep it from ringing and it exploded," I truthfully said. Jonouchi cracked up. Actually, most of the table was laughing. I could feel Bakura getting madder and madder; here it came, my punishment for being too bold earlier. Then, my world imploded on itself, and I saw my soul room.

I walked into my room and saw numerous toys and gadgets strewn around. On one wall, the Millennium Ring hung next to a large picture of Bakura that was framed in worked iron. I was the only one who could see this particular wall; it was covered in a barrier so strong I'd bet only Shadi could break it.

I heard my Yami return to his soul room, ranting, so I took control of my body again.

"What did he say?" I asked the others, who were staring at me.

"He told us that unless we shut the f up he would see to it that we never had a good night's sleep for fear," Yugi, who was now Yami, said. I then felt a stinging pain in my left hand. I looked down at it to see my fork sticking into the back of my hand. I had been paying so little attention to what I was doing that the fork was actually embedded up to the part of the tines that attach to the rest of the fork. I pulled it out and my hand started bleeding horribly.

"Well, I guess I won't see you the rest of the day," Yugi murmured weakly; he really didn't like blood. I grabbed a handful of napkins and ran out of the cafeteria, holding the napkins to the streaming wounds.

The lady in the office screamed and fainted when she was the wound bleeding like mad; I took this as an okay to see the nurse. When I sat down, the pain of the throbbing injury hit me so hard and fast I fainted. And found myself in my soul room again. But, this time, Bakura was there, cleaning under his fingernails with a knife. He was sitting on top of a large dresser against his wall.

"So, light, you managed to stab yourself on the same hand I stuck a fake castle through. Good going, idiot. Want me to kiss it better?" he asked me sarcastically, smirking. I blushed and shook my head.

"Why are you in here?" I wondered, accidentally speaking instead of just thinking it.

"Looking for your secret."

"You said you already have it!" I exclaimed, surprised.

"I lied. I am allowed, you know. It comes with the job of tomb robber," he told me. I checked to see that the barrier on my wall was still up. Then I heard an odd noise; Bakura's knife slipped. He cut his hand. He licked the blood away, closing his eyes as if savoring the taste. Yeah, he's psychotic.

"Nice blank wall you have here," he commented, pointing at the wall behind him with his knife. It sounded like he was trying to make small talk… maybe something good (for him) had happened to him today?

"Can you leave, please?" I asked him, unsure of the wiseness of the question but unwilling to leave him in my soul room alone.

"I'm leaving, but I'm coming back. By the way, you're a very inexperienced kisser," he cackled, walking out the door with his knives in each hand. I stared after him in disbelief. He did not just call me a bad kisser, did he? I left those thoughts to stew for a while as I floated back into consciousness.

The first thing I saw as I opened my eyes was Mrs. Lodon, the school nurse from England. Then a voice said, "He's waking up!" It was recognizably Yugi's, and for the first time since my return to awareness I realized that there were others in the room. Everyone who had been sitting at the table was there, as well as several of my fan club members.

My hand hurt very much, and I steeled myself to look at it. There were bandages covering my whole left hand, and I found that when I tried to move several of my fingers a shooting pain radiated out from the center of my hand. Mrs. Lodon looked grim.

"Can you move your fingers?" she asked me briskly, cleaning up the blood on the floor.

"Not really… is that bad?" I asked her nervously. She frowned, and then motioned for the small crowd assembled to leave.

"Ryou, I'm afraid that the most likely possibility is that the fork severed several important ligaments. I have to take you to the Emergency Room," she answered me, and helped me stand up. We walked like this to the school door, and then I felt stable enough to walk on my own. Walking actually helped me forget my throbbing hand for awhile. We made it to the school van and I sat in the back seat. The hospital was only a few blocks away, but there was a bad air day so we had to take the van. It didn't take very long to get to the hospital emergency room, but there were quite a few people actually in the room.

The school nurse told me to sit down while she checked me in. Bakura appeared in spirit form, to gloat I assumed. But then, you all know that joke about assuming, don't you? He sat down on the chair back next to me, staring into space. I wondered what he was thinking about.

**Bakura?** I asked voicelessly, through the mind link. **What?** He replied snidely, still staring into space. Then he turned his head towards me, and the intensity of the look he gave me made me look away or risk blushing horribly. At that time, Mrs. Lodon came over and put her hand on my arm, tugging me upwards into a standing position.

"The doctor's ready for you," she told me, in a worried, yet relieved, tone. I nodded, turning my head slightly to look at Bakura. He stood up, brushed himself off, and strode after Mrs. Lodon and me. That was strange.

I noticed we were back in the preliminary room, so I turned my attention back to the task at hand. A person, a girl, came in a put a clamp on my right thumb.

"It's to measure oxygen levels," she explained. I guess I looked confused or something. She also took my blood pressure and pulse. As she did so, I noticed Bakura, sitting on the extra swivel chair in the room. It was slowly spinning as Bakura turned it. As this sight was extremely odd, I instinctively wanted to keep staring, but I quickly realized that staring would bring unwanted attention to the chair spinning, to others at least, of its own accord.

When the ER nurse snapped her files together, I jumped back into full consciousness. I'd kind of zoned out for awhile. The ER nurse took my arm and, none too gently, pulled me into the space with lots of curtains and beds. She led me to one of them, pointed, let go of me, then left, all without speaking to me. I sat down on the bed, cradling my throbbing, injured hand in my lap. Bakura, who had apparently followed me, sat down next to me on the bed.

**Umm,** I mind spoke, unable to think of anything to say. I didn't hear him say anything, though, because a doctor walked into the cubicle and shut the curtains. The doctor was male and gave me the creeps. He looked at my bandaged hand, and without warning, he grabbed it.

"Yah!" I yelled, with shock and pain making me kick him. Bakura stared at my violent act in surprise. I pulled my hand toward myself protectively.

"Take the bandage off you hand," the doctor was saying. I unwrapped it, grossed out by what it looked like. There was dried blood all over it, and the holes were still bleeding, albeit sluggishly.

"What did this?" the doctor asked, coming closer to examine my aching hand.

"A fork," I told him. He blinked.

"A… I'm sorry, but did you say a fork?" the doctor asked, still not getting it. I nodded, not saying anything.

"Well, the first thing is to stop the bleeding," the doctor said, talking to himself. Suddenly he stopped musing and yelled, "Nurse!"

A woman rushed in, wearing what looked like blue pajamas, with a name tag. It said 'Lissa'.

"Wrap this boy's hand up then take him for an MRI. Those puncture wounds most likely severed the ligaments to his index finger, middle finger, and thumb, but I want to make sure," the doctor commanded Lissa. She nodded, and put on a pair of latex-free gloves.

"These are deep!" she exclaimed as she cleaned my hand. I was biting my lip extremely hard to keep from screaming, and the only thing keeping me from fainting again was watching 'Kura stare at the different machines with a mingled expression of wonder and suspicion. He noticed me looking at him and disappeared from my view.

I was completely blown away when he walked through the curtain fully materialized! The nurse, Lissa, looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, but only family is allowed back here," she told him. Baaaadddd idea Lissa.

"As of right now, I'm the only 'family' he has. I'm staying," he said softly, glaring at her angrily. She gulped and nodded her assent, then returned to cleaning my hand. Bakura watched her clean it, seemingly fascinated by the speed with which she did so.

"Since you are the only… family… that he has at the moment, let me assure you that you will need to take care of him. Even if the ligaments are not torn, he will still not be able to use that hand for a while," she explained.

"Take care of him, how, exactly?" he asked, looking like he didn't like the idea.

"Carry his books, open doors for him, things like that. Tell me, Ryou, are you left handed?" Lissa asked me, looking up at my face for the first time since she started cleaning my hand.

Bakura, with an expression of extreme distaste on his face, sat down on the chair that was next to the bed I was on and watched the nurse finish wrapping my hand in gauze with an assessing gaze. Lissa finished the task and stood up, gesturing for me to do so as well. I did so and followed her out of the cubicle. (That's a strange word.) We left 'Kura there, but he came after us anyway. We got to a door that said "No metal of any kind beyond this point."

"Do either of you have anything metal on you or in your pockets?" Lissa asked us, sounding like the line was rehearsed. I took off the Ring and my shoes. I looked at Bakura and he took off his Ring as well. I stared at him; I couldn't believe that _that _was all of the metal he had on him. He made a put-upon face, and reached into his socks. He pulled out a knife from each sock; that was more like it.

"Umm…" Lissa started, looking slightly afraid.

"Oh, wait," Bakura muttered, and reached into the top of his shirt and pulled out a small dagger on a cord.

"Where do we put this stuff?" I asked, unsure that they would even _let_ Bakura keep all of his knives. Huh, and they hadn't even seen 'Kura's room. Now that was a lot of knives.

"W-well, j-just step this way, Ryou," Lissa was stuttering as she opened the door. I walked through, followed closely by Bakura, who had been putting his tuff, and strangely, mine, into a box with a lid. He kicked it under a table as we walked into the MRI room. Lissa told me to sit down on the table then told Bakura to arrange my hand inside a little box on the table. I had to lie on my stomach.

"And why, exactly, do I have to do that?" Bakura asked her icily, giving her a glare.

"Because you are his family, are you not?" she answered him, matching him glare for glare. I laughed, because it was too funny that the one person who could match Bakura in an evil glare match was a nurse! Bakura then turned his angry stare on me as he arranged my hand (with surprising gentleness) inside the strange box-thing. Then he left the room; he probably couldn't stand another minute without his knives.

The table pulled into the MRI machine; while I had been watching Bakura so avidly, Lissa had put earplugs I my ears.

"Just relax and don't move," I heard a voice say over an intercom. My hand was throbbing horribly; I decided to go to my soul room. At least there it'd be quiet. I closed my eyes and let myself slide into unconsciousness, back into my soul room. The first thing that I noticed was that some of the stuff was moved. I was the door, and couldn't resist the temptation telling me to go take a peek in 'Kura's soul room.

"Why would you want to go into my soul room? And since when am I 'Kura?" Bakura asked me, coming up from behind me and making me jump.

"I don't know," was all that I said to him.

"Well, you're not getting into my soul room unt-less I let you, light," he whispered into my ear, walking past me.

"Oh, and you can't just come in when I'm not here, because the locks are so complex that only a thief of my caliber, or possibly Marik's, could pick them," he added snidely, walking into his soul room. I caught a glimpse of an oriental-looking carpet before the door clicked shut.

"Ryou, wake up!" I heard the nurse, Lissa's, voice, sounding frantic. I reluctantly returned to the land of the living, leaving Bakura's door unopened.

"Yes?" I asked, waking up.

"What was that? Do loud noises cause you to faint or something?" she asked, trying to figure out what had happened.

"I just got tired and fell asleep. Do you have any painkillers?" I asked, trying to divert her from freaking out again. She nodded and left the room. She came back shortly, bearing gifts of Tylenol with codeine and prescriptions.

"Come on, follow me, your stuff's in your cubicle. I'll take you there and then you can take your painkillers. The doctor will look at your MRI in awhile, so you'll have plenty of free time. I'll call your school and tell them to send someone with your homework," Lissa chattered as we walked.

We reached the cubicle as she ended, and she waited till I was seated on the table before giving me the painkillers and remarking, "The guy who came in earlier seems to have left for the moment. At least, he took his… things." She left, closing the curtain while she did so.

I looked up at a clock on the wall. It's funny how whenever I need to know the time, clocks show up out of nowhere. It was about time for school to be let out. I went in the MRI room at what? Two o'clock, two-thirty? Something like that. Bakura must have left about then. I wondered where he went to. Probably to Marik and Malik's hotel. For awhile, I just sat still, enjoying the effect of the Tylenol on my hand and listening to the sounds of the rest of the ER. Then I heard someone come in and set something down close by me.

I opened my eyes to see Bakura standing to the side of my table. On further scrutiny, I say the pile of homework sitting on the table beside me.

"How did that get here?" I asked him, hardly believing what my eyes told me. Bakura wouldn't have brought it; why would he? Unless… nope, can't think of anything.

"I brought it because the stupid pharaoh's light found me walking around outside in the park about halfway from here to your school. He practically dragged me the rest of the way across town to your stupid school. He also left ant the hated pharaoh took over. They forced me to bring you it," he answered me, quashing all hope of a reason with some decency in it. Or with any niceness in it.

"Ryou? The doctor's coming in to see you," Lissa said, coming through the curtain. She spied the pile of homework next to me and looked at Bakura.

"Well, I see you're doing your part so far," she told him, glaring at him. She left, and the creepy doctor came into the room. He was carrying something, and he set it down before sitting down.

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first?" he asked me.

"Umm…" I said, unsure.

"Bad," Bakura commanded from beside me. The doctor looked surprised to see anyone else in the cubicle; probably hoping he could get me alone… AAH! Bad thought. Scary…

"Well, the bad news is-" he was interrupted by a girl coming in.

"Uncle Murphy, where is the list of TV channels?" she asked him. He pointed to the right and told her to leave.

"My niece. Where was I? Ah yes. The bad news is that you will have _very _limited use of your left hand for awhile. The puncture wounds will probably require regular doctor visits. The good news? The fork did not sever any ligaments or tendons. It did put a few small holes in the muscles in your hand, but those are not deep and will heal on their own. Any questions?" he told us, stunning me.

I shook my head. He turned to look at the look-alike sitting near me.

"You will, of course, have to help him with anything requiring use of his left hand. Any movement of the hand is not permitted. It could damage the muscle further, requiring surgery," the doctor ordered Bakura. The latter looked at me and nodded. What was it about this hospital that the workers could order him around this easy?

"You are free to go now. Don't forget the painkiller subscriptions. Oh, and your homework," the doctor said, pulling me back from my thoughts. The doctor left and I was left alone in the cubicle with 'Kura.

"Well, we'd better leave and free up the cubicle," I said, slightly unnerved by the quietness of Bakura's swift acquiescence. Usually he'd argue or something!

He smirked at my confusion, and then picked up my homework. Now that was definitely weird.

"You coming?" he asked, in a mostly civil tone.

"I guess," I answered, still having trouble believing what was going on. I followed hi lead all the way out into the lobby area, where the nurse behind the desk checked me out. Of the hospital, though she may have checked _me_ out too, I'm not sure. I was slightly loopy from the pain meds. Mrs. Lodon was there, in the waiting room.

"Who is…" she started, but stopped after realizing two things: one, Bakura was giving her an 'I'll kill you if you finish that question' stare; and two, I was currently mostly zoned out. She started to take my arm, but 'Kura reached it before her. Bakura was touching me voluntarily! Yay! Mrs. Lodon looked at him strangely, but let it go without comment. We arrived outside, and Bakura told Mrs. Lodon that he'd walk me home.

"B-Bakura? I'm tired… how long till we get home?" I asked him, stumbling a little. Wow, I guess codeine really knocks you out. I zoned out again, and stumbled again.

"Oh for the love of Set…" Bakura muttered, and shifted my homework to his other side. He then shocked me completely by picking me up and putting me on his back!

"W-what are y-you doing?" I asked through a large yawn.

"Carrying you. You know, you eat a lot, but you don't weigh much," he answered me. I was surprised that he actually answered; most of the time he just ignores my questions. Whee… I'm tired and this is comfortable…

END RYOU'S POV

Ryou's fallen asleep on my back. Why am I carrying him anyway? Oh yeah… the little klutz was so doped on pain killers he couldn't walk. And now we come back to the fact that he is sleeping on my back. And I don't really mind, it kind of feels nice, actually. The apartment building is in sight now. I walked up the walk to the building, and had to find someone who lives on our floor. I had to follow them, because I don't really know how these 'elevator' things work.

Ah, there's an idiot I recognize. It's that old lady who lives down the hall and calls Landlord "Sunny Jim"! Ryou wouldn't let me send the crazy thing to the Shadow Realm, though. I followed her onto the elevator and got of on our floor. I didn't need a key; I'm the great Thief King, for Set's sake! I walked into the apartment and set Landlord's homework on the table. I started to lay down my light on the couch, but as I brought him around to front of my to put him down, he murmured, "K-Kura… don't put me down yet."

"What is with this 'Kura' business?" I started to ask, but Ryou had already fallen asleep again. This time, though, he was hugging me tightly, not letting me go. I extricated myself from his grip, which was surprisingly strong considering the extent of his injury.

"Goodnight Ryou, light," I said, standing up. His small for shivered a little after I did so, and I heard him whimper slightly.

Maybe before I leave I should give him another kiss, show him how to be a better kisser, maybe? That's an interesting though… maybe I should propose giving him kissing lessons. I wonder if he would like that. I'll bounce the idea off Malik and Marik. Oh yeah, they're in town tonight!

I walked out the apartment with renewed purpose: I was going to the Egyptians' hotel room. They were probably having a party anyway; they wouldn't care if I sowed up. I walked to the hotel; I walked in through the metal detector and set it off… again.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'll need to see some identification," an unlucky security guard said to me, sidling over, unaware of what I could do to him. I say unlucky because I was furious at all of the people trying to take my lovely knives away.

"Hey Bakura!" a voice yelled from across the lobby, saving the guard from an eternal trip to the Shadow Realm. It was Malik, and he seemed hyper; that was _not_ a good sign. He came over and grabbed my arm, dragging me to where Marik was standing.

"How much has he drunk tonight?" I asked Marik, pointing at the other blond Egyptian who was currently running around and shaking random people's hands.

"I lost count after the fourth glass."

"What kind of alcohol?"

"Russian vodka. I really don't know how he found it. I had it hidden."

I looked at Malik, and shook my head.

"I don't think it was good for him, anyway. Hey, is Ishizu here?" I asked, reaching out and grabbing Malik's arm as he was racing past to go shake someone else's hand.

"Come on," I said, dragging Malik behind me as I followed Marik upstairs.

They had rented the biggest room in the hotel, apparently. We walked inside the room, right into Ishizu's line of fire. She started throwing bottles of vodka at Marik and I; she was scary.

"Marik, this is your fault," she hissed, continuing to throw bottles at us.

"What's my fault?" he asked, playing dumb. It was pretty obvious what she was talking about; Malik was snoring loudly. He had fallen asleep as we waked up here. I certainly don't envy his headache when he wakes up.

"When Malik gets drunk, it's always your fault: 'Malik, I can drink you under the table easily; no you can't, try me'!" she replied, running out of bottles to throw. She walked over to me, grabbed Malik forcibly, glared at me, and walked away towards another section of the room.

"So, where's your other half? You usually drag him around with you," Marik asked interestedly.

"Not that it's any of your business, but he's sleeping on my couch in the apartment," I answered him, reminded, by his maniacal grin, that this was the psycho who sent me and my light to the Shadow Realm for a while.

"So, you must really be in love with him to let him sleep on your couch!" Marik shouted, laughing insanely with a slightly frightening look on his face.

"As if. He fell asleep when I was carrying him back from the hospital," I started to protest, but when my brain caught up with my mouth, I realized that saying I carried him all the way to the apartment from the hospital did not help my case.

"YAAHHH!" someone yelled suddenly, knocking me rudely from my thoughts. Malik had woken up; his scary sister had thrown an entire bucket of ice water on his face.

"My head hurts… Hey Ishizu! Where's the Midol?" Malik said, standing up woozily.

"I've got it," Ishizu answered, handing some to him.

"Midol? Isn't that, like, for girls with PMS?" Marik asked him staring at him. He, the great psycho, looked slightly weirded out.

"What? It works great for hangover headaches!" Malik snarled defensively.

"Sure. Malik, sometimes you're more of a girl than Ryou," I smirked. Then, at the looks on their faces, (gleeful), I rethought what I had said. Oh shit… I called him Ryou in front of them!

"Yeah, like hell you're not in love with him!" Marik shouted, the statement echoing in the cavernous hotel room. I was starting to protest when the door to the room opened with a bang.

The Pharaoh stepped in the door, followed closely by his lover. Then, Seto walked in with _his _lover, the blonde idiot.

"Party and I wasn't invited? I'm hurt!" I said sarcastically, raising one of my perfect eyebrows at Marik and Malik.

"Why bother? You'd show up anyway," Malik said, holding an ice pack to his head, grinning widely. I nodded to the Pharaoh.

"And he's here, why?"

"Because we decided to invite him. I suppose you don't like it?" Marik spat. I think he's manic depressive. Or is it bipolar? I'll ask Ryou lo- never mind. I'll ask Landlord when I leave.

"Is anybody home?" I heard someone say. It was Marik, of course, the only one in the room brave enough to actually tease me.

"Sure. So, what game's tonight?" I asked, my mood lightening and darkening at the same time at the prospect of the game.

"We're playing a new version of Truth or Dare. The new part is this: the dares are only allowed to go with the theme of questions assigned to a person. Each person in the game has a theme that the truth questions have to be in. Understand?" Seto explained in a monotone. I nodded, nervous and excited. Nervous, because my theme might possibly be Ryou; excited because this might be my chance to finally beat the Pharaoh! He'd never want to embarrass his light.

"The themes for each person are: Seto, Jounochi; Jounochi, love; Pharaoh, Yugi; Yugi, sex; Marik, Malik; Malik, fantasies; myself, denial; and Bakura, Ryou," Ishizu announced.

"How do we decide who gets to ask first?" Yugi asked, sickeningly cheery. I pulled out my ten-sided dice that I always carry.

"Numbers that add up to twenty to fifteen, Seto asks first. Fifteen to ten I ask first. Ten to five, Yami asks first," I said.

"What about us, 'ey?" the blonde one, Seto's dog, Jounochi, asked.

"You get to beg your masters to take their turns and not pick you," I snarled, and threw the dice. I knew they would land on twelve. They were about to land when a hand reached out and grabbed them.

"You're not throwing them," the Pharaoh said scathingly. Shoot. Now I might not be first.

"Fine. Ice boy throws for it," I snapped, indicating Seto. The blue eyed man took the dice and threw them. Twenty. Set-damnit!

"I ask first. Marik: Truth or Dare?" he asked, staring intently at the spiky headed Egyptian lying on the floor with his hand entwined in Malik's hair.

"Hmm? Oh, dare," he murmured distractedly.

"French Malik. Right here, right now," came the challenge.

"Gladly," he whispered, sitting up. As he moved to do so, a sock hit him in the back of his head. Ishizu threw it. She was glaring at Seto, though that hadn't hindered her aim any. Marik only paused for a second then continued to move toward Malik. Malik leaned into him, and it began. And kept going. And going. And going.

"All right, you can stop now," Seto said, sounding exasperated. Reluctantly, they broke away. Seto shook his head in disbelief.

"Your turn," he said.

"Yugi: Truth or Dare?" "Truth," the midget answered.

"So, which of these do you prefer: leather or silk?" Marik asked, grinning wickedly at Yugi's fast rising blush.

"I-I don't know what you mean," he stammered, looking to someone to save him.

"Answer or you will have to do a dare according to your theme. That would be worse, believe me," I said, grinning right into the Pharaoh's glare. This was great! He couldn't do anything, and this was perfectly within the rules.

"Silk," Yugi finally said, blushing so hard that he nearly started crying.

"It's his turn to pick now," Yami snapped, after everyone stopped laughing finally.

"Seto, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Seto answered, smirking.

"Let's see, your topic is Jouno, correct?" Yami asked, clearly trying to give Yugi some ideas.

"Seto, I dare you to kiss Jouno in front of as many people at school as you can tomorrow, and we have to be in the crowd too," Yugi said. Lame idea as usual. Okay, blue eyes, don't pick me, don't pick me don't pick me…

"Yami: Truth or Dare?" he asked the evil Pharaoh. Yes, it wasn't me!

"Dare," the arrogant jerk answered, with a cocky grin.

"Lick Yugi on the face sixteen times," Seto issued, smirking. He knew full well that Yami would never do it.

"Fine. Truth, then," came the expected response.

"How many times have you thought about Yugi naked?" Seto asked him, obliging. The accursed Pharaoh put his hands over the shrimp's ears as he said, "Too many to count." He let go of Yugi's ears and proceeded to ask Malik the customary question.

"Dare."

"Act out one of your _less _explicit fantasies on Marik," Yami pronounced. Whoa, I didn't know he had that twisted streak! Marik, the psychotic person who could have made a living as a serial killer, looked positively terrified. He must have eavesdropped on a few of them, then. Malik stood up and pulled one of Marik's arms around his own neck. The other arm he placed on his back, and he lay down on Marik's chest, nuzzled him a bit, and fell asleep!

Apparently no one had expected that to be one of Malik's fantasies, but hey. Marik even seemed to be enjoying it, strangely. He just doesn't seem the type of person to cuddle.

"Since he's completely sleep, I'm going to pick for him. Who should it be… Jounochi, truth or dare?" he asked, looking like he was fighting to keep a contented look off of his face.

"Truth."

"Do you love… china tea sets filled with vodka?" Marik asked him. Wait a minute, where did that come from?

"Um…" Jounochi mumbled, appearing to think over the idea. "No," he said then turned to Ishizu. "Truth or Dare?" he inquired.

"Dare."

"Tomorra', every time someone asks ya' something, say no. Say it as many ways as ya' can, like that weird commercial," he dared her. She nodded then turned to me, smirking slightly. Shoot, I'm the only one and it had to be her!

"So, Bakura, which'll it be?" she asked me. Wait, don't answer fast, think: if I say truth, not only will I be humiliated probably then they'll think I'm scared. If I pick dare, the Ry lo- Landlord could be humiliated. Which which which…

"Dare," I said finally.

"I dare you to go back to your apartment right now; we'll follow you. You are to be incredibly sweet to Ryou, including kissing him good-night and whatever else he may seem to want. We'll watch from the windows," she said, smiling. Well… I certainly didn't think it was going to be that humiliating for me!

"Fine," I said, and stood up, I looked over at Marik and Malik hoping that one of them would be there for help, but _no_, Marik's too happy snuggling with Malik, I seethed. I walked out the door; Ishizu, Seto, Jouno, Yami, and Yugi followed me.

The walk to my apartment was humiliating; they kept talking about what Ryou would probably ask me to do. My ang-landlord would never think of anything as, um…, imaginative as some of their ideas. Not that they wouldn't be fun… Heh.

"We're at your building. We'll follow you at a distance now," Ishizu explained, snapping me out of my reverie. I didn't look at her, but I went up to my apartment in one of those elevator-things without anyone else.

I walked in the door to see Ryou sitting on my couch with his shirt partially unbuttoned, and a blanket over his legs, cradling his bandaged hand in his lap and staring at the ceiling. The TV was on; so was the ceiling fan. He was so cute…

"Oh, hello Bakura," he whispered, finally realizing I was there. "How'd I get here? Last I remember, I was walking and then you carried me and I fell asleep…" he trailed off, blushing.

"Yeah, so?" I snapped, before recalling me dare. "Ooh, shit…Aw fine, sorry," I said to him. I never knew that was so hard to say! He looked stunned.

"You actually apologized," he stammered.

"Yeah, so?"

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, standing up and wobbling over to me. He checked my forehead with his good hand. Then he stumbled and fell into me.

"S-sorry," he apologized quickly, trying to stand away, but not succeeding. Hmm… well, now I know why Marik enjoyed Malik's dare so much. At least they'll probably get together after this. I've been matchmaking them so long I'll bet they finally noticed.

I heard Ryou say something, and I looked down at him. He was still standing there, practically falling onto me. I saw why he had spoken; my arm had, on its own accord, snaked around Ryou… oops?

"Yeah?" I asked, ignoring that fact. Why isn't the night over yet, Sekhmet kill me now—I am never going to live this down!

"Nothing," Ryou whispered, and fell back down onto the couch.

"I-is there something that I can g-get you?" I stuttered. Why the hell is being nice to him so hard?

"No," he answered, looking confused. "Oh, wait, actually, could you put in a movie? I want to watch one before I go to sleep," he amended.

"Which one?" I asked, with a furtive glance at the door.

"The Pacifier, Boogeyman, or 10 Things I Hate About You, you pick," he said, blushing again. I grabbed whichever one was on top of the TV; it was one of those. I put it in the DVD player and walked into the kitchen.

'What am I thinking?' I berated myself, even as I made the popcorn that Ryou hadn't even asked for. I had to make two bags because I was really hungry. I brought it all into the living room and threw myself onto the couch next to Ryou, and handed him the bowl of popcorn as the movie started.

It was Boogeyman, a movie that Ryou was terrified of but still watched about ten times a month. He started looking scared at about the time when the guy and his friend find the blood on the bathtub; Ryou seems to have a thing about blood (not like mine, though…). Soon, he was trembling so badly I though he was going to fall off of the couch.

"Fine… come here," I said finally. His shaking was reminding me too much of bad memories. He looked at me strangely, but moved gingerly toward me anyway.

"Closer."

Ryou stared, but did as I told him. And then I did something that totally surprised him. Hell, it even surprised me!

"Why are y-you h-hugging me?" he asked, though he didn't sound like he was upset. Quite the opposite, actually... almost... happy.

"I don't have to answer that," I said, my voice surprisingly strong considering that I was HUGGING (!) him. His shaking was subsiding, to my relief; it reminded me too much of a past I didn't want to remember.

I looked at the clock; it was nearly eleven o'clock. The movie was close to over.

"Ryou? Hello?" I whispered to the figure curled in my arms. He was asleep; that made the second time today that he fell asleep on me. I suddenly heard muffled laughs from behind the door to the apartment, and I growled. Ryou felt it and stirred slightly.

I stopped growling, and decided to eat the popcorn that I had made. The movie was at the bit where the boogeyman gets taken apart. Ooh, scary.

"Will you go away if I kiss my light now?" I asked, bored with the chatter I could hear behind the door. Wow. I was hungry; I'd already eaten most of the popcorn.

"Yes," a voice that was unmistakably Ishizu' answered. Fine. They want to watch, oh well. Good for them.

I put my lips to Ryou's forehead, between locks of silver-white hair, for the barest of moments. I heard laughs from behind the door, and then I heard them move further away. Finally, I couldn't hear them at all. I pulled Ry-lo-landlord closer. For some reason, he was really warm. It felt nice. Ugh… Have I really sunk this low? I actually thought the word 'nice'. I thought it again! I started falling asleep. My last coherent thought was, "His hair smells nice. I should try his shampoo," as I buried my face in his hair. It was so soft… and comfortable… hmm…mmm.


End file.
